Pants for young people are easier!

J's pants are always dwindling in numbers: as he manages to decorate them with more holes at the knees and I patch them up, they survive a little longer than their natural lifespan of two weeks. But after more abuse and more patching, usually after two months or so, the pants are so thin they can only be made into shorts. So I thought I needed to go out and buy some, when I remembered I had enough fabric left over from my khaki pants to make him some. Ottobre had a pattern I wanted to try, and J chose to have black topstitching on it (I would have chosen red or turquoise).

J Hosenschublade wird immer wieder gefaehrlich leer -- und jetzt im Winter kann ich ihm ja dann nicht einfach Shorts anziehen, wenn keine saubere Hose da ist. Die Hosen leben ca. zwei Wochen bis sie dringend einen neuen Flicken brauchen. Und nach ungefaehr dreimal flicken, da ist dann ncihts mehr zu wollen, weil einfach kein Stoff mehr da ist, wo man einen Flciken draufsetzen koennte. Also wollte ich schon fast Hosen kaufen gehen, als mir einfiel, dass ich  noch genug Stoff ueber hatte von meiner khakifarbenen Hose, um einen Ottobre Schnitt auszuprobieren. Und J hat beschlossen, dass die Ziersteppnaehte schwarz sein sollten -- ich wollte eher rot oder tuerkis. Gestern hab ich dann noch eine zu enge Laufhose von mir zu einer langen Hose fuer ihn umgenaeht. Zwei neue Hosen, und eine Hose gerade wieder in den Muell gewandert. Netto plus eins.

J a constamment besoin de nouveaux pantalons -- vivement le prochain ete pour la saison des shorts. Je prefere largement soigner les bobos aux genoux a repriser les pantalons! -- Un pantalon vit a peu pres deux semaines ici, a quel moment il a besoin d'etre repriser. Mais bon, apres trois fois, ce cycle s'arrete, parce qu'il n'y a plus assez de tissus pour faire autre chose qu'un short -- chose qui doit attendre l'ete... Heureusement que j'avais assez de tissus d'un de mes derniers pantalons pour lui en faire un. Plus un. Hier soir, fallait jeter un pantalon devenu trop de trous, pas assez de tissus. Moins un. Hier aussi, j'ai fait un pantalon pour lui a partir d'un pantalon de jogging qui m'etait devenu trop serre. Plus  un.

Pattern: Ottobre Design Magazine    04-2009-20 (Cocoa Check Pants)

Pattern Sizing: 104-128

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
yes, like the line drawing.
I used a solid color fabric, so the checkered pants from the photo look very different.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, very.
Except for the zipper: I tried following the instructions -- and ended up with the zipper right at the edge of the fly, not hidden behind it. It's wearable, but it's definitely not great. Should have used the method from my "Sew U" book, that works perfectly. And really, I should memorize that method, so I don't have to look it up every time. Maybe at my 50th pair of pants (this is only the 7th pair of pants I make this year, and two of those did not have zippers but were pull-on)

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Love the cool cargo style. And, as always with Ottobre: the details that make it look so cool and so RTW. And so unlike the homesewn look of the clothes my mom made for us. (sorry Mom).

Fabric Used:
Cotton Twill, left over from my own pants.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
(1) I cut a size 116, because that's how tall he is. I shortened the pants by about 8 cm, and added (2) buttonhole elastic in the back waist. I guess I could have cut a 110 right away, and it would have been a good fit. Ah, next time. But then, next time, he will be taller....
(3) added patches at the knees -- so they will last longer than a week. Maybe two?

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I think, yes, I will sew it again. The best is that he loves it, and that the other moms were all very impressed. It's so nice to have an easy project like this, that does not involve any fitting issues, in between sewing for me. And all those details really make the garment, and they are so fun to get right.

Conclusion:
Love it. He loves it --and he decided on the embellishments with the appliques. Sewed those on by hand after the fact. He's wearing them right now and is not ready to take them off.